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How Certain is the Higgs?

December 28, 2011
This week on the podcast, we continue our discussion of uncertainty
surrounding the Higgs. An announcement from CERN reported an "excess
of particles" that could be a hint at the Higgs boson, the particle
theorized to give matter mass. Reports on this subject state that the
findings are a two sigma result, and a five sigma result would mean a
definite discovery. But be warned! This is an oversimplification of
the importance of sigma. Hear why, in this week's Physics Buzz
podcast.